Teenager's art helps hospitals after his death

The heartbroken parents of a teenager who died a year after heart transplant surgery caused by Covid complications have said their lives will "never be the same".

After catching the disease in February last year Osian Jones developed MISC-C (Multisystem Inflammatory syndrome in children associated with Covid) after which he suffered three heart attacks aged 15.

After getting a new heart on 30 June 2023, at Harefield Hospital, London, he died aged 17 on 19 June this year.

During his treatment there Osian turned to drawing to express himself, and his family are starting a not-for-profit using his art, to raise cash for the hospitals that looked after him.

Osian’s parents Alexis and Andy, best friend Anna-Sophia and cousins Luca, Angelo, and Tori are planning to sell streetwear with Osian’s pictures on to raise money for Harefield and the British Heart Foundation.

"This will be Osian's legacy," said his parents.

On Saturday, 27 July, Osian’s family and friends have arranged for a supercar procession through his home town of Barry, as well as Penarth, both in the Vale of Glamorgan.

"He wanted to be taken to his funeral in a Ferrari, in a Ferrari jacket," family friend Claire said.

A fundraising page set up to support Osian’s parents to stay in hospital with him has now reached almost £34,000.

When Osian first fell ill he was unaware he had Covid and was taken to A&E.

He went on to have three heart attacks and was taken from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff to intensive care at Bristol Children's Hospital.

There his family were told he had rare inflammatory syndrome MISC-C, which is associated with Covid, and scarred his heart.

He was discharged in October 2023. At the time his parents said Osian had "amazed" doctors with his resilience and positive attitude.

Claire said: "The staff at Harefield couldn’t believe that he’d actually got through it, and that he was still alive. They used to call him their miracle."

After being discharged, Claire said Osian enjoyed Christmas with family and friends.

"We were all celebrating the fact that we had him with us," she said.

But during a check-up in January this year his family were told something was wrong.

Osian, who had suffered sepsis as a result of MISC-C, stayed in hospital for a month. Then he was discharged "ten times stronger."

"He had a magnificent few months, when everyone was just joyous about him," said Claire.

In June 2024 he started to feel tired and uncomfortable and was taken to the cardiac unit at the University Hospital of Wales. There, his heart started rejecting the transplant.

The morning he died Osian was to be moved to Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, but he never made it.

His parents said the tributes they had received had a common theme - that spending time with Osian was a joy.

They said their son had made everyone smile and could spot anyone in need of help or support.

"The gap he leaves is cavernous," they said.

Also sometimes called Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS), external, the rare complication of coronavirus occurs mainly in children of school age, but also occasionally in infants or young adults.

According to NHS Inform, children with the condition generally develop mild to no symptoms at the time of their coronavirus infection, and usually start to develop MISC-C symptoms about four to six weeks later. Children with MISC-C have a temperature over 38°C (100F) that lasts for at least three to four days.

Other common symptoms include a red rash (spots or blotches) which may be there all the time or come and go, red eyes (conjunctivitis) which are not sticky or itchy, abdominal pain which might be severe, vomiting and/or diarrhoea, sore throat, cough, breathlessness, swollen glands, sore red mouth, swollen hands and feet, headache, dizziness, sleepiness or confusion.

There are no specific tests for MISC-C. Doctors diagnose by looking at levels of inflammation in the body through blood tests, and at how well parts of the body are working, alongside common symptoms.